Two Devon schools which received damning reports from inspectors are to be 'sponsored' by a Cornish Trust in the hope of raising standards.

The Department for Education has announced today that Wave, formerly known as the Acorn Academy Cornwall, will formally become the sponsor of Central Devon Academy in Exeter and the North Devon Academy in Barnstaple - both of which have been slammed by Ofsted in the past nine months.

Read More

Wave will also take over the South and West Devon Academy in Dartington.

The North Devon Academy in Barnstaple

All three schools are operated by the SchoolsCompany Trust, which has been under interim leadership since the beginning of the year.

In January we reported that the North Devon Academy in Barnstaple was deemed "inadequate" across the board and placed into special measures after Ofsted inspectors found that teaching and pupil behaviour was inadequate, safeguarding and leadership were ineffective and the pupils' achievement at the school was poor.

The academy was formed in March 2015, replacing the Devon County Council Pupil Referral Unit.

South and West Devon Academy in Dartington was last inspected in July 2014 and was rated good. At that time it was seeking to become a sponsored academy.

Since January all three schools have been operating under staff at the academies, by the Interim Chief Executive of SchoolsCompany Trust, Angela Barry, and by ACE Schools Multi-Academy Trust, working under a Service Level Agreement covering North Devon Academy and Central Devon Academy.

Read More

According to a press release from SchoolsCompany today, Wave specialises in alternative provision (AP) and currently leads AP academies and The Community and Hospital Education Service (CHES), a medical alternative provision academy.

Two of its academies are rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted, with the other five judged to be "Good", making Wave the most successful AP academy trust in the country by Ofsted outcome.

The release says Wave has a "strong track record of achieving impressive outcomes" with their pupils in terms of qualifications, re-integration and positive post-16 outcomes.

South and West Devon Academy in Dartington

Robert Gasson, Chief Executive of Wave Multi-Academy Trust, said: "We are delighted to have been approved by the Department for Education and the Regional Schools Commissioner for the South West to sponsor these three academies.

"Today is a new chapter for our Trust, as we change our name to Wave, and expand into Devon.

“We are committed to giving pupils the very best education so that they fulfil their potential and can achieve in all areas. We are looking forward to supporting the students, and working collaboratively with their parents and the academies’ wider communities.”